Digital Commons Network^™

Fundamentals Of Speech, Steelman Library, David Yates

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.

Fundamentals Of Speech, Steelman Library, David Yates

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.

Fundamentals Of Speech, Steelman Library, David Yates

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.

Western Art Appreciation, Steelman Library, Jan Hurndon

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.

Optimising End-To-End Maritime Supply Chains: A Carbon Footprint Perspective, Patrick Rigot-Muller, Chandra Lalwani, John Mangan, Orla Gregory, David Gibbs

Articles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an optimisation method, and resulting insights, for minimising total logistics-related carbon emissions for end-to-end supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on two real-life UK industrial cases. For the first case, several alternative realistic routes towards the UK are analysed and the optimal route minimising total carbon emissions is identified and tested in real conditions. For the second case, emissions towards several destinations are calculated and two alternative routes to southern Europe are compared, using several transport modes (road, Ro-Ro, rail and maritime). An adapted Value Stream Mapping (VSM) …

Critical Moments And Second-Chance Education Constructing Socially Excluded Women's Stories Of Career Success, Sue Mulhall

Articles

This paper narrates the role of education/training in the career success stories of twelve women on an Irish active labour market programme, Community Employment (CE). All from lower socio-economic groups, having early school-leaving backgrounds, and, prior to CE, were long-term unemployed. CE enhances the employability of the long-term unemployed by offering work opportunities and providing education/training. Using narrative inquiry, it understands how the women (re)construct their interpretations of their career success following critical moments of change in their lives. The paper narrates the stories on a case-by-case basis according to the category of critical moment that each participant experienced and …

Silent Stories Of Resistance To Doing Employment, Sue Mulhall

Articles

Purpose – Exploring experiences of participants on an Irish active labour market programme, the purpose of this paper is to examine accounts of everyday forms of resistance to the subject positions offered in the dominant discourse of “doing employment” espoused on such schemes.

Design/methodology/approach – Employing narrative research, the process of individual opposition to established work routines is illustrated at the level of meaning, identity and self reflection by using the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space to chronicle three participants’ stories. Their newly formed subjectivities (created by changes encountered in their past lives and the situations they are experiencing in their …

Inverter Performance For Small Wind Turbines When Connected In Paralled With The Low-Voltage Distribution System, Jonathan Blackledge, Eugene Coyle, Derek Kearney, Eamonn Murphy

Articles

Small wind turbines have been installed in urban and turbulent locations with surprisingly poor performance and this has been backed up by data from a trial at the Technological University Dublin. In order to develop the small wind turbine industry a careful examination of assessment methods for the wind resource is required. Small wind turbines connected in parallel with the grid use inverters. As the wind turbine is not always at max output, a Weighted Average Efficiency for wind inverters is proposed. Pitfalls associated with developing an accurate weighted average efficiency for an inverter are identified and this will enable …

Lipid Targets In Clinical Practice: Successes, Failures And Lessons To Be Learned, M Dunne, Oscar Mac Ananey, V Maher

Articles

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:

Optimal risk factor control is integral to managing patients with proven coronary heart disease (CHD+) and for those at risk of coronary heart disease (CHD-). The primary aim of the study was to assess the success rate of reaching lipid risk factor targets in a multiple risk factor clinic.

METHODS:

A retrospective audit was conducted in 488 patients (CHD+, n = 112; CHD-, n = 376) who attended the Cardiovascular Risk Factor Clinic at Tallaght Hospital, Dublin in 2009 and 2010.

RESULTS:

Risk factor targets achieved in CHD+ and CHD- patients were LDLc (54/62 %), HDLc (67/67 %), …

Free-Living Amoebae In Sediments From The Lascaux Cave In France, Angela M. Garcia-Sanchez, Concepcion Ariza, Jose M. Ubeda, Pedro M. Martin-Sanchez, Valme Jurado, Fabiola Bastian, Claude Alabouvette, Cesareo Saiz Jimenez

International Journal of Speleology

The Lascaux Cave in France is an old karstic channel where the running waters are collected in a pool and pumped to the exterior. It is well-known that water bodies in the vicinity of humans are suspected to be reservoirs of amoebae and associated bacteria. In fact, the free-living amoebae Acanthamoeba astronyxis, Acanthamoeba castellanii, Acanthamoeba sp. and Hartmannella vermiformis were identified in the sediments of the cave using phylogenetic analyses and morphological traits. Lascaux Cave sediments and rock walls are wet due to a relative humidity near saturation and water condensation, and this environment and the presence of abundant bacterial …

Exploring The Sulfide Tolerance Of Ectosymbiotic Niphargus Amphipods From The Frasassi Caves, Central Italy, Jan Bauermeister, Karoline Assig, Sharmishtha Dattagupta

International Journal of Speleology

Two species of the crustacean amphipod genus Niphargus inhabit the sulfidic groundwaters of the Frasassi caves in central Italy, and both harbor filamentous, sulfide-oxidizing Thiothrix ectosymbionts. As sulfide is toxic to most aerobic organisms, it appeared possible that the ectosymbionts could help their Niphargus hosts with detoxification processes. In this study, mortality due to sulfide was compared between Niphargus individuals with ectosymbionts and individuals whose ectosymbionts had been killed by antibiotic treatment. Both Frasassi-dwelling Niphargus species revealed exceptionally high tolerances to sulfide compared to other amphipod species studied so far. Niphargus individuals without viable ectosymbionts tolerated sulfide levels exceeding those …

Full Issue 42(2)

International Journal of Speleology

All articles in Volume 42 Issue 2. Does not include cover image.

Layer-Bounding Surfaces In Stalagmites As Keys To Better Paleoclimatological Histories And Chronologies, Loren Bruce Railsback, Pete D. Akers, Lixin Wang, Genevieve A. Holdridge, Ny Riavo Voarintsoa

International Journal of Speleology

Petrographic recognition of layer-bounding surfaces in stalagmites offers an important tool in constructing paleoclimate records. Previous petrographic efforts have examined thickness of layers (a possible proxy for annual rainfall) and alternation of layers in couplets (a possible indicator of seasonality). Layer-bounding surfaces, in contrast, delimit series of layers and represent periods of non-deposition, either because of exceptionally wet or exceptionally dry conditions.

Two types of layer-bounding surfaces can be recognized according to explicitly defined petrographic criteria. Type E layer-bounding surfaces are surfaces at which layers have been truncated or eroded at the crest of a stalagmite. Keys to their recognition …

Advances In Blind Source Separation, Christopher Osterwise

Doctoral Dissertations

"Blind Source Separation (BSS) is a classic problem that attempts to separate unknown sources from observed mixtures. A common framework of this is the Cocktail Party problem, where multiple individuals speaking in a noisy room are recorded by a configuration of microphones, with the challenge being to split the observed signals into individual conversations. This dissertation covers the evaluation of an existing algorithm known as Cascaded ICA with Intervention Alignment (CICAIA), the establishment of a new parameter for characterizing blind mixtures, and three new algorithms, of which two are capable of separating any number of sources given more microphones than …

Integration Of Nanoporous Zeolite With Optical Fiber Devices For Chemical Sensing, Xinwei Lan

Doctoral Dissertations

"Label-free optical fiber chemical sensors have provoked significant research interest in recent years due to their unique advantages of small size, low cost, potential for distributed sensing, capability of in situ and remote operation, and tolerance to harsh environments. However, existing optical fiber chemical sensors lack the desired sensitivity and specificity for many applications such as chemical and biological analysis, industrial process control, environmental monitoring, and national security.

The dissertation summarizes our research efforts and results in functional integration of nanoporous zeolites with optical fiber devices for development of label-free optical fiber chemical sensors with high sensitivity and selectivity. Fundamental …

Modeling And Analysis Of Dynamic Behavior Of Adsorption Stratified Column Beds Packed With Partially Fractal Porous Adsorbent Particles, Min Li

Doctoral Dissertations

"In this work novel porous adsorbent media having partially fractal structures and stratified packed-beds are constructed and their dynamic performance with respect to their adsorptive capacity through the construction and solution of rigorous models is studied. The results show that conventional columns packed with partially fractal porous adsorbent particles provide larger breakthrough times and dynamic utilization of the adsorptive capacity of the column when compared with those of conventional columns employing conventional adsorbent particles which do not possess a partially fractal structure. Furthermore, stratified column beds exhibit superior species separation performance than conventional columns when they are packed with either …

Source Reconstructions For Ic Radiated Emissions Based On Magnitude-Only Near-Field Scanning, Ji Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

"In this dissertation, a source reconstruction method is proposed to model the emission behavior of an IC by using magnitude-only information during near-field scanning. The phase-retrieval is accomplished during the back-forth iterations between two scanning planes of different heights. The magnitudes of fields on two planes of different heights are recorded and used to constrain the amplitude of the calculated fields during iterations. Three essential transformations among dipoles and fields are continued at each iteration step, until the convergence condition is achieved. The proposed algorithm has been verified by using a set of dipole-array as the original emitting sources, and …

Bio-Inspired Design, Fabrication And Testing Of Bipolar Plates For Pem Fuel Cells, Nannan Guo

Doctoral Dissertations

"The flow field of a bipolar plate distributes reactants for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells and removes the produced water from the fuel cells. It greatly influences the performance of fuel cells, especially the concentration losses. Two approaches were developed to improve flow field designs in this dissertation. One is inspired by the biological circulatory structures and called bio-inspired designs, which have great potential to transport reactant efficiently and hence improve fuel cell performance. Another way is using a network-based optimization model to optimize the conventional flow field configurations, i.e., pin-type, parallel and serpentine designs, to improve flow distributions …

Polybenzoxazine Aerogels: Synthesis, Characterization, Conversion To Porous Carbons, And Energetic Composites, Shruti Mahadik-Khanolkar

Doctoral Dissertations

"Aerogels are nanoporous, low-density bulk objects, consisting of three-dimensional assemblies of nanoparticle. Structured similarly, polymeric aerogels are emerging as a mechanically strong alternative to traditional silica aerogels, which are fragile. Amongst polymeric aerogels, those based on polybenzoxazine (PBO - a type of phenolic resin), are extremely robust and comprise an economic alternative to resorcinol-formaldehyde aerogels, also a class of phenolic resins, as the main source of carbon aerogels. The drawback of the PBO chemistry has been the long (days) processing time at high-temperatures (>130 ºC). Herewith, we have developed an energy- and time-efficient process to PBO aerogels by inducing …

Study Of Artificially Disordered Optical Fibers, Herath Mudiyanselage Sumudu Rasika Kumari Herath

Doctoral Dissertations

"Light transmission through photo-sensitive multi-mode fibers (MMF) with controlled volume disorder is investigated. Experiment shows that a segment of disordered MMF as short as 10 cm is sufficient to distribute power uniformly over all co-propagating modes and the intensity at the output surface of the fiber follows the Rayleigh negative exponential function. To explain the experimental findings, a comprehensive theoretical model is developed with three main results. First, statistical properties of all components of the dielectric tensor are obtained and analyzed in the framework a microscopical model of photo-sensitivity in a germano-silicate glasses. Secondly, it is shown that induced birefringence …

Characterization Of Nano-Scaled Metal-Hydrides Confined In Nano-Porous Carbon Frameworks, David Edward Peaslee

Doctoral Dissertations

"Metal hydrides are currently being studied to provide hydrogen for use in fuel cells and for transportation applications. Hydrogen can be stored in chemical compounds at higher density and lower volume than liquid H₂ or compressed gas. Thermodynamic properties of metal hydrides differ between bulk and nano-sized particles. Many metal hydrides with useful volumetric and gravimetric capacities have high decomposition temperatures, but when placed in nano-sized frameworks (or templates) desorption and adsorption temperatures can be fine-tuned to meet engineering requirements for real-world systems. Additionally, some metal hydrides have shown a change in the decomposition pathway when infiltrated into these frameworks, …

Privacy-Preserving Friend Recommendations In Online Social Networks, Bharath Kumar Samanthula

Doctoral Dissertations

"Online social networks, such as Facebook and Google+, have been emerging as a new communication service for users to stay in touch and share information with family members and friends over the Internet. Since the users are generating huge amounts of data on social network sites, an interesting question is how to mine this enormous amount of data to retrieve useful information. Along this direction, social network analysis has emerged as an important tool for many business intelligence applications such as identifying potential customers and promoting items based on their interests. In particular, since users are often interested to make …

Model Based Fault Diagnosis And Prognosis Of Nonlinear Systems, Hasan Ferdowsi

Doctoral Dissertations

"Rapid technological advances have led to more and more complex industrial systems with significantly higher risk of failures. Therefore, in this dissertation, a model-based fault diagnosis and prognosis framework has been developed for fast and reliable detection of faults and prediction of failures in nonlinear systems. In the first paper, a unified model-based fault diagnosis scheme capable of detecting both additive system faults and multiplicative actuator faults, as well as approximating the fault dynamics, performing fault type determination and time-to-failure determination, is designed. Stability of the observer and online approximator is guaranteed via an adaptive update law. Since outliers can …

Numerical Analyses Of Long Carbon Fiber Reinforced Concrete Panels Exposed To Dynamic Loading, Zahra Sadat Tabatabaei

Doctoral Dissertations

"The purpose of this research was to evaluate impact and blast performance of long carbon fiber reinforced concrete experimentally and numerically. Experimental tests were conducted on plain concrete (PC), reinforced concrete, and four different types of long carbon fiber reinforced concrete (LCFRC). The results from each test were then compared to one another. This comparison indicates that adding long carbon fibers to concrete both increases the post-cracking behavior of concrete and decreases the spalls in either an impact or blast test. Among all of the fibers tested, Fiber Type B3 outperformed the other fibers, absorbing more energy during impact. Numerical …

Enamel Coated Steel Reinforcement For Improved Durability And Life-Cycle Performance Of Concrete Structures: Microstructure, Corrosion, And Deterioration, Fujian Tang

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study is aimed (a) to statistically characterize the corrosion-induced deterioration process of reinforced concrete structures (concrete cracking, steel mass loss, and rebar-concrete bond degradation), and (b) to develop and apply three types of enamel-coated steel bars for improved corrosion resistance of the structures. Commercially available pure enamel, mixed enamel with 50% calcium silicate, and double enamel with an inner layer of pure enamel and an outer layer of mixed enamel were considered as various steel coatings. Electrochemical tests were respectively conducted on steel plates, smooth bars embedded in concrete, and deformed bars with/without concrete cover in 3.5 wt.% NaCl …

The Library Catalog, Jeffrey T. Bowen

Library Faculty Presentations & Publications

Presentation made for the Public Services Staff of the Thomas G. Carpenter Library at the University of North Florida.

The Reality Of Counseling Services Provided By The School Counselor For Gifted And Talented Students In The Jordanian Government School, Sohaila Banat, Soua'd M. Ghaith, Mouhamed Sayel Barahmeh

Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies

This study aimed to investigate the reality of counseling services provided by the school counselor for gifted and talented students in the Jordanian governmental school. Also, it aimed to know the effects of some demographic variables. The researchers developed a scale for the counseling services that consisted of 50 items. The instrument included: psychological, academic, vocational, familial, social, and cognitive aspects. It was administrated after checking it's appropriate reliability and validity. The sample consisted of 174 counselors from Salt, Zarqa, Almafraq, Alrosaifa, and Ain Albasha directories in Jordan. The results showed that the counselors practicing low level of the counseling …

Integrable Systems As Fluid Models With Physical Applications, Tony Lyons

Doctoral

In this thesis we begin with the development and analysis of hydrodynamical models as they arise in the theory of water waves and in the modelling of blood flow within arteries. Initially we derive three models of hydrodynamical relevance, namely the KdV equation, the two component Camassa-Holm equation and the Kaup-Boussinesq equation. We develop a model of blood flowing within an artery with elastic walls, and from the principles of Newtonian mechanics we derive the two-component Burger's equation as our first integrable model. We investigate the analytic properties of the system briefly, with the aim of demonstrating the phenomenon of …

The Turning, Stretching And Boxing Technique: A Direction Worth Looking Towards, Mark Dunne

Doctoral

3D avatar user interfaces (UI) are now used for many applications, a growing area for their use is serving location sensitive information to users as they need it while visiting or touring a building. Users communicate directly with an avatar rendered to a display in order to ask a question, get directions or partake in a guided tour and as a result of this kind of interaction with avatar UI, they have become a familiar part of modern human-computer interaction (HCI). However, if the viewer is not in the sweet spot (defined by Raskar et al. (1999) as a stationary …

A Viewpoint Of Tanzania E-Commerce And Implementation Barriers, George S. Oreku, Fredrick Mtenzi, Al-Dahoud Ali

Articles

The growing rate of ICT utilization particularly the Internet and mobile phones has influenced at an exponential rate online interaction and communication among the generality of the populace. However, with the enormity of businesses on the Internet, Tanzania is yet to harness the opportunities for optimal financial gains. This study is exploratory in nature as it attempts to unveil the prospects of ecommerce implementation, participation, motivation and opportunity to the developing countries like Tanzania where by the domestic market is very big to ensure the growth of agricultural sector. The paper proposes to investigate the ability of consumers to purchase …